Post #794242 by MadDogMike on Wed, Apr 3, 2019 9:46 AM

My north facing patio cast perma-shade on part of the lawn that just doesn't get enough sun for Bermuda grass. I decided to try some large cast-in-place stepping stones in that area. They will extend the usable are of the patio and I will plant a shade loving grass between them to transition from the concrete patio to the grass.

You can see my 3 foot diameter prototype in the upper left, starting two new stones. Outline made on the ground with spray paint

Dug out to a depth of about 3.5 - 4 inches and tamped down

Back filled with sand to a depth of 3 inches and tamped again

Mixed up four 60 lb bags of concrete mix in two batches and poured them in the holes. Leveled off and smoothed with a trowel. Now to wait for them to get set enough to texture

So mix up a Bumboat and wait

Three texturing mats. The big one is borrowed, the two small ones are spidaStamps from RockMolds.com, about $30 each.

When the concrete was set pretty firm, I textured it with the rubber pad and the tamper. I sprayed concrete mold release on the pad and rotated the pad each time so it looked more random. I think this texture is called Pitted Coral.

After texturing, I put a honu petroglyph on one stone

After a couple hours, when the concrete was good and firm, I took a shovel and cleaned up the edges so there won't be any thin places at the edges.

Have a 6x60 foot area to cover so I have a lot more to make. Once they have cured 1-2 months I will stain them with an acid stain.